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‘It’s irresponsible’: Recovered addict shares honest take on ‘exploitative’ Euphoria finale

There has been a lot of controversy around it

Oreoluwa Adeyoola
5th June 2026, 12:03
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Kit Lazer, a film and TV critic, has shared his thoughts on the heartbreaking Euphoria finale on TikTok as a recovering addict.

The Euphoria finale split viewers. Rue’s death was hard to watch as we’d been following her story for the past seven years, and many thought it was anti-hope to end on such a dark note. Media critic Kit Lazaer also believed the finale was flawed, but not for the same reasons many are citing.

“I think it’s bad in the most irresponsible and harmful way. I tried really hard throughout the season to give it the benefit of the doubt,” he said in a video shared to TikTok yesterday.

“Sam Levinson places all of the blame on the misguided youth, and the criminals who prey on them, and none of the blame on the systems that failed them both. I was horrified to see what was happening to both Rue and Ali,” he added.

Kit acknowledged Sam Levinson’s personal struggles with addiction, and the loss of Euphoria cast member Angus Cloud. Like many others, he believes Rue’s death was realistic and brought an important spotlight to the issue of fentanyl in the US.

“I’m in recovery. I’ve been sober for 14 years, and it’s true: if you spend your life in a 12 step program trying to get sober by helping other people get sober, you will get close to n unimaginable amount of people, watch them start to get their life on track, get their head above water, start to mile – only to watch them die,” Kit said.

@moviesaretherapy

Well, the Euphoria finale was terrible #movies #tv

♬ original sound – Kit Lazer

“It’s horrific, I’ve experienced it dozens and dozens of times. But I’ve also personally seen hundreds of people get clean and sober. They come from a depth of hell few can imagine and now live happy and fulfilling lives; some of them are so successful and able that you would never guess where they’d come from.”

After Rue’s death, Ali leaves his support group and vows to get revenge, killing Alamo in a Kill Bill Vol 2-esque showdown.

“I hated watching Ali abandon the program and make a huge speech about how it’s all futile,” Kit said. “And I think that it’s admirable to tackle the kinds of controversial topics that Euphoria attempted to explore, but it’s irresponsible to do it all in a way that feels exploitative.”

“I think it’s true that society suffers from a spiritual disease more than anything else. But that statement was made from such a distinctly upper-class and white perspective that it’s virtually meaningless.”

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Featured image via HBO